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Grade 1 Science

14 curriculum outcomes with explicit teaching progressions

Select a record to inspect its progression

Waves Light Sound · 1-PS4-1

Investigate sound and vibration

Independently plan and conduct investigations to provide evidence that vibrating materials can make sound and that sound can make materials vibrate, using examples such as tuning forks, plucked strings, or paper fluttering near a speaker. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can observe and describe that materials such as a plucked string or a struck tuning fork vibrate while they make sound.
  2. 2I can plan and conduct an investigation showing that sound from a source, such as a speaker or tuning fork, can make another material, like a piece of paper, vibrate.
  3. 3I can use evidence from investigations to explain that vibrating materials make sound and that sound, in turn, can make materials vibrate.
Waves Light Sound · 1-PS4-2

Explain that objects are seen only when illuminated

Independently make observations, such as in a darkened room or with a pinhole box, to construct an evidence-based account that objects can be seen only when light is available to illuminate them or when they give off their own light. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can make observations in a darkened space, such as a closed box or dark room, to notice that objects cannot be seen without any light present.
  2. 2I can compare objects that give off their own light, like a flashlight, with objects that can only be seen when an external light source illuminates them.
  3. 3I can use observations from darkened and illuminated settings as evidence to explain that an object can be seen only when it is illuminated or gives off its own light.
Waves Light Sound · 1-PS4-3

Investigate how materials affect a beam of light

Independently plan and conduct an investigation to determine the effect of placing transparent, translucent, opaque, and reflective materials in the path of a beam of light, showing that materials differ in how much light passes through them and that mirrors can redirect a light beam. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can place different materials, such as clear plastic, wax paper, and cardboard, in a beam of light and sort them as transparent, translucent, or opaque based on how much light passes through.
  2. 2I can plan and conduct an investigation showing that a mirror placed in the path of a light beam redirects the beam rather than absorbing or blocking it.
  3. 3I can use investigation results to explain how a material's transparency, translucency, opacity, or reflectiveness determines whether light passes through, is blocked into a shadow, or is redirected.
Waves Light Sound · 1-PS4-4

Design a device that communicates with light or sound

Independently use tools and materials to design and build a device, such as a light signal, string telephone, or drum-beat pattern, that uses light or sound to solve the problem of communicating over a distance. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can identify what it means to communicate a message over a distance, and consider how light or sound could carry that message from a sender to a receiver.
  2. 2I can use tools and materials to build a device, such as a string telephone or a pattern of light flashes or drum beats, that sends a signal over a distance.
  3. 3I can test whether a built device successfully sends and receives a light or sound signal over a distance, and revise the device to improve the communication.
Organisms · 1-LS1-1

Design a solution by mimicking plant or animal parts

Independently use materials to design a solution to a human problem by mimicking how a plant or animal external part, such as a turtle shell, thorns, roots, or eyes, helps the organism see, hear, grasp, protect itself, move, or take in food, water, and air. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can identify a specific external part of a plant or animal, such as a shell, thorn, root, or ear, and describe how that part helps the organism see, protect itself, move, or get what it needs.
  2. 2I can identify a human problem, such as needing protection or stability, that could be solved by mimicking the function of a specific plant or animal external part.
  3. 3I can use materials to design and build a solution to a human problem that mimics the shape and function of the chosen plant or animal external part.
Organisms · 1-LS1-2

Identify patterns in parent-offspring survival behaviors

Independently read texts and use media to identify patterns in the behaviors of parents and offspring, such as signals offspring give (crying, cheeping, or other vocalizations) and the responses parents make (feeding, comforting, or protecting), that help offspring survive. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can read texts or use media to identify signals offspring give, such as crying, cheeping, or other vocalizations, that communicate a need to their parents.
  2. 2I can read texts or use media to identify parent behaviors, such as feeding, comforting, or protecting, that respond to their offspring's signals.
  3. 3I can use evidence from texts and media to determine the pattern connecting an offspring's signal to a parent's response and explain how that pattern helps the offspring survive.
Inheritance · 1-LS3-1

Compare offspring and parent traits

Independently make observations to construct an evidence-based account that young plants and animals resemble their parents in many features but are not exactly identical to them, and that individuals of the same kind vary in ways such as size. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can make observations comparing a young plant or animal to its parent to identify features, such as shape or color, that are alike.
  2. 2I can make observations comparing multiple young plants or animals of the same kind, such as leaves from the same plant or puppies from the same litter, to identify ways they differ, such as in size.
  3. 3I can use observations as evidence to construct an account that young plants and animals resemble their parents without being exactly identical to them.
Space Systems · 1-ESS1-1

Describe predictable patterns in the sun, moon, and stars

Independently use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to describe patterns that can be predicted, such as the sun and moon appearing to rise, move across the sky, and set, and stars other than the sun being visible at night but not during the day. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can observe and record where the sun appears to rise, its path across the sky, and where it appears to set.
  2. 2I can observe and record patterns in the moon's appearance in the sky and the visibility of stars at night compared to during the day.
  3. 3I can use recorded observations of the sun, moon, or stars to predict where or when a sky pattern will occur again.
Space Systems · 1-ESS1-2

Relate the amount of daylight to the time of year

Independently make observations at different times of year to relate the relative amount of daylight, such as comparing winter to spring or fall, to the time of year, without quantifying the exact number of daylight hours. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can make and record observations of roughly how much daylight there is at different times of the year, such as in winter and in spring or fall.
  2. 2I can compare recorded observations to determine whether there is relatively more or less daylight in one season than another.
  3. 3I can use the comparison of relative daylight amounts to describe the pattern relating the amount of daylight to the time of year.
Engineering Design · K-2-ETS1-1

Define a simple engineering problem

Independently ask questions, make observations, and gather information about a situation people want to change in order to define a simple problem that can be solved by developing a new or improved object or tool. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can make observations and gather information about a situation that people want to change or improve.
  2. 2I can ask questions about the observed situation to gather the information needed to understand what is causing the problem.
  3. 3I can use gathered observations and information to define a simple problem that can be solved by developing a new or improved object or tool.
Engineering Design · K-2-ETS1-2

Model how an object's shape helps it function

Independently develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model to illustrate how the shape of a designed object helps it function as needed to solve a given problem. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can identify how the shape of a possible object or tool could help it perform the function needed to solve a given problem.
  2. 2I can develop a simple sketch, drawing, or physical model that represents a proposed object's shape and design.
  3. 3I can use the sketch, drawing, or physical model to explain how the object's shape helps it function as needed to solve the problem.
Engineering Design · K-2-ETS1-3

Compare design strengths and weaknesses using test data

Independently analyze data from tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem in order to compare the strengths and weaknesses of how each object performs. across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can conduct or observe tests of two objects designed to solve the same problem, collecting data on how each performs.
  2. 2I can analyze test data for each of the two objects to identify what each design does well and where each design falls short.
  3. 3I can use the analyzed test data to compare the two designs and explain which strengths or weaknesses matter most for solving the problem.
Computer Science · EEP-CS.1

Build algorithms with choices

Independently create and test an algorithm that uses ordered steps and a simple choice across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can explicitly teach and model how to describe an algorithm as precise ordered steps using a concrete computing example.
  2. 2I can describe how to use an if-then choice when an action depends on a condition using a traced example or representation.
  3. 3I can independently test the algorithm with more than one input and correct an error in a new computing context and explain the evidence that the solution works.
Ai Literacy · EEP-AI.1

Ask AI for help without giving away the thinking

Independently ask an ai helper for an explanation or clue and then complete the thinking independently across representations and contexts.

Component progression

  1. 1I can explicitly teach and model how to ask for an explanation instead of an answer with an age-appropriate ai-use scenario.
  2. 2I can describe how to use a clue to take the next step yourself by comparing responsible and irresponsible choices.
  3. 3I can independently check with a trusted adult before sharing personal information in a new learning context while preserving the learner's own thinking and responsibility.
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